This brick of Cote d’Or Lait Noisettes (that’s milk hazelnuts) was part of my friend Neil‘s Dutch candy haul. It really stood out because it was ginormous. Its size plus its pretty paper wrapper made it look like a fancy bar of soap.

The bar was so thick, in fact, that it was a bit intimidating. I couldn’t imagine how I would gnaw through the thing.

Fortunately, removing the paper wrapper revealed that the bar was actually divided height-wise into two thinner slabs, each foil wrapped and reasonably proportioned.

The underside of the bar was quite pebbly with all the hazelnut bits. The smell of the bar, however, diverged from its nutty appearance.

I found it a bit odd and hard to place – yogurt? or petrol? It wasn’t off-putting, exactly; just strange.

The individual slabs were further broken down into demarcated fingers, each beautifully stamped with the Cote d’Or name and elephant logo. I was impressed at how well the chocolate held its shape, especially since its milk chocolate-ness meant it had a super soft break.

The milk chocolate was absolutely lovely – thick and creamy, as milk chocolate should be. The hazelnut flavors came through loud and clear and provided a wonderful contrasting nuttiness.

I was greatly impressed at how fresh and flavorful this bar was. If only American mass produced milk chocolate could taste so good! An OM.